barefoot pagan

Sunday, August 12, 2018

It is a time for deep change. We stand at the cliff's edge right now, our toes over the edge above the abyss. Behind us is a world of greed, of suffering, a world out of balance with the natural forces around us/ In front of us...well, that remains to be seen.

Right now a dark stormy fog lies before us. Occasionally the fog shifts and we get a glimpse of what lies beyond. Sometimes that future seems to be a good one, of balance and healing of the Earth, and other times it appears to be dark and forbidding.

There are two futures before us. Right now we still have a choice of which future we pull towards us, but the window for that choice is narrowing.

The Earth will survive, as she has for millennia. She has enormous capacity for healing herself. The real question is...will we? As a society, as a race, will we step forward into the future or step off into the abyss of destruction?

The answer to that question lies within us. As pagans, as witches, as people of the Earth, we have more power than most to to effect change. And yet, for the most part, we haven't. We have been content to live our lives like the rest of the herd, stepping forward only to circle on the holidays, practicing quietly in the safety of our apartments. We have taken the watered-down witchcraft they offered us, tried the badly-rhymed spells and incomprehensible rituals, and then wondered if we were doing it wrong when we didn't feel anything. When it didn't work. And maybe then you felt, somehow, a need for more, a way to go deeper.

It's time for a change.

It's time to find a way to go deeper. It's time to shake off our complacency and find time to play, to heal, to fight, to howl at the moon. It's time to break the chains and connect with the deep primal forces within ourselves and within the Earth.

You don't have to wait until you join a coven or find a teacher or find other people like yourself. You don't need to attend a weekend workshop that costs more than your rent or mortgage payment. All you need is yourself and the world around you. The First Knowledge, the knowledge of your primal self and the deep pagan ways of our ancestors is available to anyone who seeks them. You just need to learn to listen...and be willing to unlearn the lies that society has taught us.

Thursday, August 9, 2018

Great news! A Voice from the Thornwood: The Parting Words of a Shar Master will be published by Mandrake of Oxford early next year. Jack and I are
very excited to finally see this book in print and share our tribal
sister Corva’s story with you. Will keep you updated on the progress!

Here's another excerpt...

Agnes leaned forward. ‘Have you been told anything about the traditions that people like me follow?’

‘No,’ I said. ‘I was simply told that you might have a thing or two to teach me.’ I grinned. ‘In fact, after seeing your house, I thought you might be some kind of witch.’

Agnes laughed. ‘I get that quite a bit but I am not what would be considered a witch. I do take such things as a compliment because I hold ‘true witches’ in great respect. So no, I am not a witch, though there are a few old christian ladies who give me a wide berth when they see me in town.’ She laughed. ‘I am something you probably have never heard of before.’

‘What’s that?’ I asked, imagining that she was going to say she was part of some herbalists’ or organic farmers’ collective.

Agnes’ face went slightly more serious. ‘I’m Thornish,’ she replied.

‘You are right,’ I said. ‘I have heard of Scottish and even Cornish, but never Thornish.’

When I look back, it was in that moment I recognized I had been brought to a kind of gateway that I hadn’t even known was there in the first place. It seems to me now that for a long time I had been guided, whether by my own destiny or by outside forces – likely a combination of both – to the point where I met Russell and later, the others.

‘Thornish people are pagan folks who walk in a very special way. We are what could be described as earth warriors or even forest mages, I guess. Some have suggested that tribal mystics might apply too. None of these descriptions really nails it though because we have never fit into the mold that the mainstream tries to force everyone into.’

I remember staring at Agnes and I must have had a blank look on my face as I tried to make heads or tails of what she had just said. That trademark soft grin she so habitually wore crept back onto her face even though I could tell she was trying to remain serious. After a few more seconds she gave in and the grin spread.

‘You should see your face right now,’ she said. ‘You really have no idea of what I’m talking about, do you?’

‘No one told me anything,’ I said.

’Well, there is only one reason I can think of that you came over here to see me, Carolyn, and that’s so I can help you on the next leg of your journey…even if right at this moment you look like you just swallowed a rock.’

‘Actually, I feel like someone just handed me a treasure map,’ I replied as coolly as I could.

Inside my belly I felt a creeping warmth that flowed from my core and joined the tingly feeling of déjà vu that had been climbing up my back and into my head. It wasn’t just the mead, it was something a lot deeper and a lot more instinctive. It was as if something clicked inside of me and just felt …right.

‘Alright then,’ Agnes said at last, filling our glasses up once again. ‘If it’s something you want to do, you can stay with me and if you want, I will teach you a few things.’

Monday, July 16, 2018

“You ask where it has
all come from; that I have contributed so much. But you need to understand that
I am simply a path along which lore travels. It has been my honor to be thus.
It is the privilege of all Shar to be such a lore-path and you too will
discover this in yourself. The lore comes to us because we have been chosen to
bring it into the world. Each of us will add to this sacred circle as we serve
the balance. Each of us will also understand the true nature of the sacred as
we walk in this way.”

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

"The great Heathen sage Tom Joy once
said that we are entering the Wolf-Age; a time of conflict and despair which
has been brought upon our world through generations of black deeds and crimes
against the very essence of the Earth.

Yet in answer to this, in keeping with
the sacred Balance, a Re-Awakening has begun: A Re-Awakening in which
multitudes of people are jolting awake to the understanding of what is truly
going on and are refuting the theological lies that have been poisoning our
existence. They are returning home to the Elder Kin of their hearts and
spirits: they are returning to the defense of our home against the minions of
the criminally insane who are trying to kill Her."

Thursday, June 7, 2018

"In books and in the movies you hear about the hero who
comes to town, does his thing, and then leaves, never looking back. I
never really believed in that dramatic kind of thing and thought I might
peek back in just to see if anything had changed…or just to be a rebel.

I certainly didn’t think of myself as a hero and I certainly had
had no great adventure in the place I was leaving. All I really saw
drifting in my wake were the ghosts of my parents and the dreams they
once had for me. But ghosts can go anywhere as long as you keep them in
your heart with a good helping of loving memory.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

In Thornish tradition there is an
exercise performed by those new to the ideas of our form of pagan beliefs. For
years this has been referred to as a Hollowing, or as going into the hollows.
What this entails is that a person goes out into a natural setting where they
are unlikely to be disturbed or distracted and once there they spend a period
of time in meditation upon their place in the world and on the true nature of
the state which our world is in. This may sound like a simple thing but to
those who have performed this act of deep introspection the results can be
quite profound.

Monday, August 7, 2017

Simple folk magic for attracting money to you: Stand on a bridge over a swiftly-running creek or river, facing upstream so the water is rushing towards you. Toss a coin in the water (the higher denomination the better) and ask the spirits of the water and the land to send more money your way. Picture the abundance flowing over you and into you as you absorb the energy of the rushing water headed towards you.

Don't forget to leave an offering for the spirits of the place in thanks! This will work better if it is an area where you have already cultivated relationship with the land spirits by regularly leaving offerings and being a steward of the land.